The NHL on ABC
The NHL on ABC is a former TV show that televised National Hockey League games on the American Broadcasting Company and was produced by ABC's corporate sibling (under the Walt Disney Company umbrella) ESPN. Before the 1992–93 NHL season In 1979, ABC was contracted to televise Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Since the Finals ended in five games, the contract was void. Had there been a Game 7, then [[Al Michaels|'Al Michaels']] (play-by-play), Jim McKay (anchor, under the Wide World of Sports umbrella), Bobby Clarke (color commentator), and Frank Gifford (reporter) would've called it. This would have given Michaels the distinction of calling all four major North American sports championships, having since called the Super Bowl, World Series, and NBA Finals. 1992–1994 version In the and seasons, ABC televised six weekly regional telecasts on Sunday afternoons beginning in March (or the last three Sundays of the regular season). This marked the first time that regular season broadcasts of National Hockey League games were aired on American network television since (when NBC was the NHL's American broadcast television partner). ABC would then televise three weeks worth of playoff games (or the first three Sundays of the playoffs ). They didn't televise the Stanley Cup Finals which instead, were televised nationally by ESPN and by Prime Ticket in Los Angeles ( ) and MSG Network in New York ( ). Games televised on ABC were not subject to blackout. These broadcasts (just as the case was with the – package) were essentially, time buys by ESPN. The main difference is that the graphics were ABC Sports' instead of the ones seen on [[ESPN National Hockey Night|'ESPN National Hockey Night']]. In later years, the roles would be reversed as ESPN's graphical style would be used with the exception of intermission reports. ABC even used ESPN's theme music for the 1992–1994 coverage and get to televised the first 2 rounds of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. During ABC's next stint with the NHL, they had their own theme music (composed by Bob Christianson). Announcers Studio hosts * John Saunders # [[Gary Thorne|'Gary Thorne']]-[[Bill Clement|'Bill Clement']] # [[Mike Emrick|'Mike Emrick']]-[[John Davidson (hockey player)|'John Davidson']] Schedules 1993-94 April 17, 24, May 1: Playoffs Stanley Cup playoff commentator crews 1993 1994 1999–2004 version In August 1998, ABC, ESPN, and ESPN2 signed a five year deal worth a total of approximately $600 million (or $120 million per year). This time around, ABC televised four to five weeks worth of regional games on Saturday afternoons beginning in January. ABC also televised the National Hockey League All-Star Game and Games 3–7 of the Stanley Cup Finals in prime time. Following the 2003–04 season, ESPN was only willing to renew for two years at $60 million per year and ABC refused to televise the Stanley Cup Finals in prime time. Disney executives later conceded that they overpaid for the 1999–2004 deal, so their offer to renew the TV rights was lower in 2004. Announcers Studio hosts * John Saunders, John Davidson (studio analyst from - ), and Barry Melrose (studio analyst from ) Stanley Cup Finals hosts * [[Al Michaels|'Al Michaels']] ( – ) Commentator Crews # [[Gary Thorne|'Gary Thorne']]-[[Bill Clement|'Bill Clement']] and [[John Davidson (hockey player)|'John Davidson']] ( – ) # [[Mike Emrick|'Mike Emrick']]-[[Barry Melrose|'Barry Melrose']] # [[Dave Strader|'Dave Strader']]-[[Brian Engblom|'Brian Engblom']] # Steve Levy-Darren Pang Schedules 1999-2000 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03 2003-04 season Stanley Cup playoffs Nielsen ratings References External links * ABC Sports announces its hockey broadcast teams * NHL, ESPN-ABC Seek Viewers * NHL on ABC - Google Search (timeline) **1992-93 **1993-94 **1999-2000 **2000-01 **2001-02 **2002-03 **2003-04 Category:Media